Disclosures of Annual Confidential Reports (ACR) comes under Official Secret Act

[sandeepbaheti]

Assessment loses secrecy

As reported by NISHIT DHOLABHAI in The Telegraph on June 11, 2009

New Delhi, June 10: Central government officials will not have to spend sleepless nights worrying about what a vindictive boss might have put down in their annual confidential reports — there will be no ACR anymore.

In its place will come the annual performance assessment report, which won’t be secret. Officials will get to see the assessment and, if they disagree with it, to approach a senior with their objections.

The order replacing the pre-Independence ACR with the new assessment report was passed by the department of personnel and training on May 14, two days before the election verdict. But the circular informing government departments of the reform was issued today.

Copies have been sent to chief secretaries of states and Union territories. While it is not binding on states to implement the order, “slowly systems will co-ordinate and even states will implement the new system”, a source said. The new appraisal system, which is in line with that in the private sector, is effective from April 1, 2009 and will apply to the reporting period 2008-09.

The parameters for assessment have not been announced yet, but leadership qualities and innovation will be among them, sources said.

The ACR, whose contents can’t be revealed even under the Right to Information Act, was a subjective assessment with no listed criteria. Officers were rated as “extraordinary/very good/good/poor”. In order to be promoted, the assessee would have to earn an “extraordinary” or “very good” thrice.

Last year, the government had dropped ACRs for officers of the All India Services, which include the IAS and the IPS, and brought in transparent and consultative performance appraisal reports.

The decision to extend the open appraisal to all other central government officers came after the Supreme Court held in a 2008 judgment that the object of writing the confidential report and making entries is to give an opportunity to the public servant to improve performance. The second administrative reforms commission also recommended that the performance appraisal for all services be made consultative and transparent.

Accordingly, the circular today said, “the concerned officer shall be given the opportunity to make any representation against the entries and the final grading given in the report within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of the entries in the APAR.”

The “representation” would be restricted to factual observations on an officer’s work output and attributes in the assessment report.

An officer unhappy with the report can approach a reviewing officer, who will be senior to the reporting officer and will have the authority to modify the report.

Source: The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Assessment loses secrecy

[nk agarwal]

The circular would not alter the situation under RTI Act-2005 which does not bar disclosure. It is a different thing that the PAs are not following the provisions of the RTI ACt-2005 in this matter and the applicants have to knock doors of CIC and SICs.
the basic tenet of RTI ACt-2005 is transparency and accountability at all levels and ACRs cannot be exception.

[karira]

In view of the Supreme Court order, DoPT has issued a circular dated 14 May 2009:

1. Renaming ACR as APAR
2. Full APAR to be communicated to the person being assessed.
3. Concerned Officer can make a representation within 15 days. If no representation made within 15 days, it implies that the officer accepts the remarks.
4. New system to be effective from the year 2008-09 whose assessment starts from 01 April 2009.
5. Competent authority can accept the representation and modify the APAR or reject the representation.

Full circular attached to this post.

Although the system has changed, the circular fails to answer the main problem raised in this thread - can the past ACR's be disclosed or not ?

[ROSHNI PK]

I agree with Milinduw. In some cases parciality being made and ARC prepared not for his efficiancy but the relationship with boss.

[Hossain]

Be it ACR or APAR- it will take long time to change the Colonial Culture and engram of the Central Government officials.By renaming Calcutta as Kolkata, nothing has changed as regard to the city or its citizens,the overall effect of APAR will remain the same as in ACR. The reflection in the APAR will be the ultimate out come of the degree and diversity of the 'services' an official has rendered to his boss.

[arungupta20]

The rule for adverse gradings in ACR is to communicate the adverse grading to the officer concerned, so that he / she may represent against the grading for its expungement. However, what is the rule for overall grading in the ACR. Is it to be expunged or not.

[karira]

Please read this full thread: Disclosures of Annual Confidential Reports (ACR) comes under Official Secret Act

[ganpat1956]

Post # 286 & 287 merged with the main thread.

[sktamta]

I want to know whether any PA may provide copies of ACRS of its emploees to THird party or may disclose to public under RTI

[karira]

Originally Posted by sktamta

I want to know whether any PA may provide copies of ACRS of its emploees to THird party or may disclose to public under RTI

Till now, CIC or any other SIC has not allowed disclosure to a third person or the public.